FEBRUARY 2018 BAD FAITH CASES: NO BAD FAITH WHERE NO ACTIVE INSURANCE CONTRACT EXISTED BETWEEN THE PARTIES (Middle District)
The decedent-insured took out a life insurance policy and paid premiums on it for roughly six years, before cancelling the policy just ten months before her death. The decedent-insured’s husband, as executor of the estate, then submitted a claim under the policy. The insurer denied the claim, citing the decedent-insured’s cancellation as its justification. The husband sued for breach of contract and bad faith, and the insurer moved for summary judgment.
The husband argued benefits were owed because the decedent-insured meant to cancel her auto insurance policy with the insurer and not the life insurance policy. After listening to an audio recording of a telephone call, the Court was unconvinced, and ruled “no contract existed between the parties at the time of the decedent’s death.” Because no contract exited between the parties, the insurer had a reasonable basis for denying the claim, and the Court granted summary judgment in favor of the insurer on both the bad faith and breach of contract claims.
